Stellar Goddess
by LolAya
Summary: What will happen when a mysterious man appears in the guild, claims he is Lucy's fiancé, and tells everyone that she has a mission to complete that will result in either the destruction of the world or losing that one person she loves? NaLu. After Edolas Arc but before Tenrou Island Arc.
1. Prologue

Hi! Ahyamae here. This is a new story that just popped in my mind. I know this chapter is short, but I promise to make the next coming chapters longer. This is my second fanfic, the first one is _The Book of the Fallen,_ which is still unfinished, and if you haven't read it yet, please allow some time to read it and allow more time to review. But don't forget to review this one too, as my writer-self depends on reviews to survive, whether negative or positive. _AND_ please be gentle with me when giving reviews :)

Disclaimer: I _**DO NOT**_ own Fairy Tail.

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><p>Prologue<p>

A dark figure dashed from the low bushes and straight to the guards in front of the gate. The two guards were stunned by the man's sudden appearance, giving him time to attack. He ran past the two guards and quickly turned around. Now facing their back, he gave both of them a blow to the head and they immediately fell to the ground.

The man stared at the two people lying on the ground and scanned the area.

"Huh, no reinforcements or anything?"

There wasn't a thing that seemed to block his way. No surveillance cameras, no magic barriers, no reinforcements, even an amateur could beat these guys out cold. For a guy rich enough to buy this piece of land and call it home, the security level was too low. It took him about twenty minutes to walk from the village entrance to this mansion, and nothing came in his way. Except for the guards who are currently sleeping soundly on the ground.

"This is way too easy, and I expected better. Or does the old man know that I'm here and he knows what I'm looking for?" He shrugged and walked to the wall. The man was tall, about 6'3, and the cloak he was wearing made a shadow over his face which covered most of his facial features. He snapped his fingers and a gush of wind suddenly appeared, circling him and making his cloak flutter.

He was then levitated from the ground up to the tall wall and he jumped down. After jumping, he immediately stood up to a fighting stance, ready to take on anything that might come in his way. But nothing came, just pure silence and darkness.

He just stood there for a full minute and slowly stood straight.

"Seriously, this is making me look stupid." He shook his head as he walked to the nearest window and climbed in.

After successfully breaking into the mansion, he took his time to look around the room. Even if his only light source was the moon's faint beams that's coming from outside, he can see everything. It was a guest room, he guessed, and despite being just a guest room, it was big. Probably for someone important. The room was painted a light green, giving anybody a relaxing feeling, and everything else was white. The door, the curtains, the bed, and the bed sheets.

Though this room was meant for the person to be relaxed, he was tense, and he kept silent, trying to listen for anything, faint footsteps, talking, anything that can warn him for people. But he heard nothing, and he slowly pushed open the door that leads to the hallway. He quickly hurried down the hall, grateful for the rich people having a habit which is putting lush carpets everywhere, thus helping him conceal his footsteps.

After a few turns, he stood in front of a mahogany door. This is obviously the master's bedroom, as it was a double door instead of one. After what happened outside, he wasn't surprised that nobody confronted him. He slowly opened the door to a small crack, spying if anyone's inside, though this is just an unnecessary action, but he still needed to be careful.

The room was empty, just as he had suspected. Besides, who would want to sleep in a room where you once shared with your dead spouse? The pain was too much to bear, and memories of the two of you keep on repeating themselves in your head, which does nothing but deepening the wound in your already bleeding heart.

He stepped in the familiar room. After all those years, the room still looked the same, and everything was dustless. Looks like the old man still wanted to preserve all those happy memories he and his wife once shared.

The room was bigger than the guest room earlier, and it was colored light blue. _Her favorite color._ The person thought sadly. He inhaled some of the air as memories started to come back, threatening to open his old wound. He shook his head, shaking those memories away and focused on his mission. _The amulet._

He looked around and found a dresser table at the corner. The table was full of jewelries and make up which were not used for so long. Again shaking his head and discarding the idea of taking some precious jewelries and give it to the person closest to him. He searched inside the drawers, jewelry boxes, and finally found the amulet in a hidden drawer. He quickly grabbed it and ran out of the nearest window and to home, not knowing all of what he did was being recorded by a hidden camera and watched by the owner of this mansion.

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><p>So? What do you think? Please give me your opinion. And yes, I know this one was short, but this is just a prologue, I promise that the next chapters will be longer! (runs away)<p> 


	2. Chapter 1 Mysterious Fiancé

Hey guys! This is Ahyamae, and I'm so sorry that I just updated right now! If you read my other story, you'll know why. I know this chapter is a little bit short, but I decided to put the others in the next chapter, or else it will be weird if I put it here. It won't match with the chapter title. Lol. I know I can always change it if it doesn't match with the story, but I'm just too lazy to think of another one, besides, this one's better :P

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.<p>

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><p>Chapter 1 Mysterious Fiancé<p>

The guild is as noisy as always, with some of the people fighting, particularly Natsu and Gray. Lucy sat at the bar, sipping at her drink while sighing. Levy on the other hand sat at Lucy's right, reading an extremely thick book. Lucy sighed again, and the continuous sighing made Levy perk up.

"What's wrong Lu-chan? Is there something bothering you?"

"No…well, yes." Lucy rested her chin on the table. "I'm bored."

"Why don't you take a mission with Natsu then?"

Lucy pointed at her back to where Natsu and Gray were fighting. "Does he look like he wants to take a mission? And Erza's out taking an S-class mission. You're currently busy too."

Levy nodded and stared at amazement as Lucy dodged a flying chair that Natsu threw which was supposed to hit Gray. She didn't even look at it, and it just flew beside her while she took another sip from her glass as if nothing happened. A few seconds later, another object flew at her direction, this time it was a mug, which flew over Lucy's head as she ducked slightly.

"How do you do that?" Levy asked, wide-eyed.

"Do what?" Lucy turned her head to Levy as another mug almost hit her.

"That." Levy pointed at the broken mug and Lucy instantly knew what she was talking about.

"Oh, this? It's a new skill I learned from Natsu and the others." Lucy smiled bitterly, "actually, I was forced to learn it. Because every time we take a mission that includes fighting a mass number of people, Natsu has this bad habit which He always throws his defeated opponents aside, whether I'm there or not, so I forced myself to learn how to dodge things without looking, which became a reflex action."

Levy listened with great interest. "That's pretty cool. I wish I can have missions that I can beat people up, but Jet and Droy always does the job before I can do anything, and they're too protective." Levy pouted, and Jet and Droy, who heard the conversation, crouched at the corner with tears.

"You better not." Lucy shuddered at the memory of the last mission, which did not go too well. She almost got squashed by an over-weight guy. "Anyway, I'm so bored! Every day's always the same. Why can't there be a change?"

"What sort of change would you want?"

Lucy thought for a while. "Anything, as long as it's not ordinary! This boredom is killing me!"

And just as she said that, the door of the guild was slammed open by a man in dark clothing that seemed to cover every inch of his body except his eyes. The people were surprised at the sudden appearance of the mysterious man and they all stopped what they were doing. Even Natsu and Gray stopped fighting once they noticed that a person just slammed open the door. They all stood there for a long while, not taking their eyes off the person, and Lucy felt a strong and heavy aura emanating from his whole body, which made her feel like a helpless animal under the watch of a hungry predator. Then suddenly, Master Makarov walked out of his office in the second floor and noticed the unusual silence.

He looked over the wooden railings and immediately recognized the man. "Why, if it isn't Alex? I didn't expect you to come this early, why don't you come up and we'll have a small talk?"

The man nodded and went to the stairs, while he was walking up, Makarov chuckled. "Please, will you stop that? You're making my children tense."

"Alex" made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle before everything went back to normal.

After they heard the door of the master's office closing, all of the noise came back, but this time they were talking about the man.

"Whoa, what was that?"

"I've got no idea; it was as if he was staring at us like a piece of meat."

"No, I'm pretty sure he was staring at somebody. But I was so tense I didn't see who."

Lucy breathed out as she listened quietly at their conversation. She knew that the man's eyes were glued to her all the time, but she doesn't have any idea who he was or what he wants.

"Hey, Natsu and Gray stopped fighting."

She turned her to the two people who were previously fighting and saw annoyance in Natsu's eyes. What is he pissed about? Was it because of the new comer? He stormed to the bar where Lucy and Levy was sitting and sat at Lucy's left, leaving a dumbfounded Gray. Mirajane immediately appeared out of nowhere and asked if Natsu wanted anything. He just shook his head as his stare seemed to bore a hole on the wooden table and his hands clenched into tight fists. Lucy could even see the veins popping out from the back of his hands and arms with his fists clenched so tight.

"Hey, what are you so angry about?" Lucy asked, curious at what made her partner so pissed.

Natsu glanced at her direction for a second and returned his gaze on the table. "Nothing." But just after he said that, his stare seemed to gain intensity after each passing second. If eyes could kill, then the table would be set aflame by now. Lucy just stared at him weirdly before returning to face Levy, who was staring at the second floor with great interest.

"Levy? What are you looking at?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just curious about what magic that guy does, and how strong he is. I've never experienced anything like that before."

Lucy nodded in agreement. Somehow, this aura radiating out him was as heavy as a ten ton rock put on her shoulder, and she was suffocating with the thought of him staring at her ever since he came in.

"His name was Alex, wasn't it? I'm gonna ask him some questions once he gets out of master's office." Levy said to Lucy with sparkles in her eyes. Lucy sighed. What would Gajeel do if he saw her like this? He would probably beat the guy. If he was strong enough, that is. Something inside her is telling her this "Alex" is probably stronger than Gildarts, no, maybe even stronger than master himself! She leaned her chin on her hand and started to think that maybe this is the change she needed all along.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

A few minutes after, they all heard the door on the second floor open and they all looked up to where master and Alex was standing.

"Everyone, from now on, Alex here will be a part of Fairy Tail, and I expect that all of you will get along him."

A small buzz spread through the crowd below as Alex walked down the stairs. Levy rushed to him and said a few words, then after seeing him nod, Levy pulled him towards where she was sitting a while ago and let him sit beside her.

"So, tell me your basic info."

"My name's Alex Ross. Birthday is on August 15, age 20."

Levy nodded while taking it all down on a pretty old notebook.

"Umm…Levy, may I just ask what do you write on that?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, just a list of people that's interesting and their basic profile."

"I see…" Lucy perked an eyebrow. Levy sure does have some weird hobbies.

Levy scribbled on the note book before noticing that Alex was covered entirely by black clothing.

"Don't you feel hot?"

Alex shook his head. "But I can take it off if you want to."

Levy nodded as Alex slowly took off the clothing that was surrounding his head, and both of them gasped as they took a good look at his face.

He had tousled chestnut brown hair that seems to fall just in the right place despite the messiness, and his eyes were a piercing electric blue that looked like it can mesmerize anyone. His skin was fair and his face was nothing but perfect, and a small star was placed right under his left eye, like a tattoo. His looks were too perfect that Lucy immediately classified him as a guy most women would kill for. Unfortunately, she isn't "most women".

"Uh…" Levy just stared at him for a long while before realizing she was speechless. "*cough* I now see why you prefer to be covered up."

He just chuckled and nodded his head. "But that's just a part of the reason."

Lucy stared at him, but strangely, she didn't find him as the "perfect guy" or anything, just a feeling of familiarity. She knew she has met him before, but she can't remember when or how.

A small cough reminded her that Natsu was still sitting beside her, and she turned to see him more annoyed than ever.

"Why are you staring at him?" He sounded like he was trying to suppress a growl and hide it, but unfortunately, Lucy still heard it. "You like him, don't you?"

"What? You can't assume that I like him just because I was staring at him! And besides, what the hell is wrong with you? A second ago, you were all normal and fighting with Gray, then suddenly you got upset right after Alex came in, tell me, what's wrong?"

Natsu looked like he was about to say something but was cut off by Gray. "Nothing actually, just that he's jealous."

Lucy tilted her head and looked at him confusingly. "Jealous? Why would he be jealous?"

Gray smirked. "Heh, that's because…" But before he can finish, Natsu's flaming fist hit him square in the jaw.

"Shut the fuck up, Gray! You have nothing to do with this!" Natsu yelled at him.

Gray groaned and stood up. He rubbed his jaw and his eyes were filled with annoyance and anger. "Even if I don't have anything to do with it, you didn't have to hit me!"

"Well, you deserve it for butting in people's business!"

"Fuck you, man!"

"Eww, no way! Are you gay or something? Go fuck yourself!"

"That's it! I'm so gonna beat you up and make you cry for your momma!"

"Fine with me, I was planning on finishing this once and for all anyways!" Natsu charged at Gray and they repeated what they were doing a while ago.

Lucy just sighed as she turned back to the two. She noticed that Alex was staring at them with interest.

"Are they always like that?"

Lucy nodded with a bitter smile. "If you really are gonna join this guild, then you better get used to them." She looked around and saw levy already seated with Jet and Droy somewhere at a big table. "Huh? I thought she was going to ask you some questions?"

"We're already finished." Alex smiled at her. "By the way, would you mind introducing me to your friend, Miss Heartphilia?"

Lucy was surprised. "How do you know my last name?"

"Of course I know your name, I'm your fiancé." He said it in a voice that the whole guild can hear and everyone, including Natsu and Gray, all stopped what they were doing once again.

"My what?"

"Her what?"

They all said in unison, which amused Alex. "Wow, I never knew you had this good of coordination."

"You haven't answer my, I mean, our question."

"You all heard it," he shrugged, "I'm her fiancé."

They all widened their eyes. "My fiancé? How come I never knew about it?"

"Well, actually, it was already set up for quite some time now," he said casually, as if being her fiancé wasn't a burden on him, "and it was first planned to let you know once you turn eighteen. But unfortunately, you ran away from home just a few months before your birthday."

Lucy gaped at him with her mouth wide open, and he chuckled. "Better close your mouth, my beloved."

Lucy blushed both at the action she did and his comment. "Then why does father keep on arranging some other marriages for me when I already have a fiancé?"

"He hates me."

"E-excuse me?"

Alex sighed and turned to the bar. "For some reason, he hates me, and I don't even know what I did."

"Uh…" Lucy didn't know how to respond to this, as she wasn't really good in cheering people up, since she's used to picking out their oddities.

Natsu walked towards Lucy. "Psst, Luce, what's a 'fiancé'?"

Lucy face-palmed herself. "*Sigh*, seriously, how many other stuff you do not know? A fiancé means a man engaged to a woman, while the woman is called a 'fiancée'."

"They all sound the same… Anyway, you're his fiancée?"

Lucy nodded, and Natsu snapped. "What the hell? How come nobody knows about this?"

"Natsu!" Lucy cried. "Calm down! We all just knew a while ago. How come you're so pissed off?"

"That's because I…!" Natsu realized that he was about to say something that he wasn't planning to, and immediately shut his mouth, together with a blushing face.

"What were you going to say?" Lucy tilted her head, once again confused. Surely, Natsu was acting pretty weird since this morning, what the hell is wrong with him?

Natsu just shook his head and most of the guild members instantly knew what he was thinking, including Alex, who just smirked.

"Well," Gray scratched his head, "I was quite content to be the first and only one that knew this, but since most of you know it now, it's no use in hiding it anymore. Lucy, you see, Natsu has a…" But before he could finish, Natsu once again punched him, this time on the nose. He punched him so hard Gray fell to the ground with a bleeding nose and lay unconscious. Juvia quickly took him to the infirmary before giving Natsu a silent glare, though he seemed to be oblivious about it.

"And to anyone who dare say it out, it won't be as simple as a punch!" He glared at the people who were crowding around them, and they quickly resumed their seats, not wanting to face Natsu's wrath. They have never seen him like that before, and it felt like them being the small animals and Natsu was the predator that hasn't eaten for days.

"I see you've got interesting friends." Alex said to Lucy, leaning on her, his breath touching her ears and sending shivers down her spine.

Lucy jumped and gave him her signature Lucy kick, but he easily dodged it and grabbed her extended foot towards him and placing it on his back, while he grabbed her right hand and his right hand caught her waist. They looked like a couple who had just finished tango.

"Oi! What the hell are you guys doing?" Natsu shouted at them.

"I don't know! He caught me off guard and I was supposed to kick him, but somehow he dodged it and it became like this." Lucy pushed a smirking Alex away while explaining. _Wait, why am I explaining to him? He doesn't even like me!_ Lucy frowned and simply walked to where Levy was sitting, far away from Alex.

"Whoa, I've never seen him this mad before." Levy said after Lucy sat down. "He must really be jealous of him, even though he doesn't realize it."

"Not you too, Levy." Lucy shook her head. "Why do you people keep on telling me that he's jealous? What the hell is he jealous about?"

Levy gave her a long stare which made Lucy uncomfortable. "What? Don't stare at me as if I'm an idiot!"

"_Well, you are if you can't see why…"_ Levy muttered under her breath. "*Sigh* I can't believe that can also be as dense as Natsu, Lu-chan."

"What? Compared to him, I'm much brighter! And my logic is normal!"

"But that doesn't mean you can analyze the situation well." Levy pointed out. "Anyways, better not ask me. Besides, I think you'll get to know the reason soon, as a rival has appeared." Levy glanced side-ways to Alex, which Lucy didn't notice, and Levy saw that Alex was staring intensely at Lucy. She pretended she didn't see anything as she continued to chat with her friends, but she can't shake the feeling that something bad will happen soon.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

A few days after Alex has joined, he kept on sticking together with Lucy like a bee flying around a flower. He even requested to join Natsu's team, which Erza has agreed upon, much to Lucy and Natsu's dismay. But even if he seemed to be annoying, he proved to be effective during missions, especially dangerous ones. His preferred magic controls the four elements fire, water, wind, and earth. He can also perform first-aid healing spells, together with defensive ones, which greatly aids them during pesky situations. But he seemed to know more than that, though he looks like he doesn't want to divulge it to them, yet.

And when he's around, he creates barriers around the buildings and such before fighting, and it resulted in increase of their pay, since Natsu can't destroy anything inside the barrier, which in turn solved Lucy's rent problems, and the other's problems, too.

"This is great! With this much money, I can pay the rent for three months and still have extra!" Lucy beamed when she was given her share, and was humming while they were returning home.

She walked the fastest, and Natsu behind with Happy, followed by Gray and Erza, with Alex at the back.

"I've never seen Lucy this happy before after a mission." Gray whispered to Erza.

Erza nodded. "Most probably because she finally got money that would pay her rent in just one mission. Before, we had to do multiple missions in order to pay her rent for just a month, but this time, she can pay the rent for three months straight. I'd be happy too if I were in her shoes."

They're conversation was over heard by Natsu, and it made him feel frustrated. It's true that he's the reason why they always get scolded and their money cut because of the damage, but he never meant it. He was in the heat of the moment and he just forgot to pull back a little. But when he saw Lucy's satisfied face, he realized that he _was_ overdoing it in the past missions, and he never saw Lucy like this before every time they finish a quest, which made him even more frustrated. Happy noticed Natsu's frustration, but he assumed that he was just hungry, and assured him that they would be able to eat once they get to town. Natsu was appreciative of Happy's intention of cheering him up, though it didn't succeed, but he still gave him his signature crooked smile, telling him that he's okay.

While on the train, Lucy sat squashed between Natsu and Alex, in front of them sat Gray, Erza, and Happy. In the past, whenever Natsu sat beside Lucy while riding any sort of transportation, he noticed that his motion-sickness would ease a little by just taking in Lucy's sweet scent. She smelled like vanilla with a bit of citrus, and it calmed him whenever he gets depressed or angry. He also noticed that no one, as in NO ONE, has the same scent as hers, and only he can identify her scent, not even Wendy or Gajeel can, and it made him feel like Lucy was his, forever, and nobody will take her away from him. But since Alex came along, this silent wish was smashed as easily as smashing a mirror, and it made him both furious and nervous. Angry that Alex dare take Lucy away from him, and nervous that Lucy will choose Alex instead of him. He recalled the small talk he had with Gray and Erza a few days ago.

*FLASHBACK*

"_Hey, guys. Mind if I join you?" Natsu approached the table where Gray and Erza were sitting._

_His sudden polite action surprised them and they both mentally agreed that he wanted something from them._

"_Sure." Erza said as she stood up and let Natsu sat at her place while she sat beside Gray. Now that both of them were facing Natsu, he blurted out something that made them seriously stunned._

"_What's a girlfriend?"_

_It took a while for them to process what he had just said, and when they did, they stared it him, speechless. Natsu was confused by their surprised look and had gotten quite angry._

"_C'mon! I know that you guys are wondering what kind of question I just asked, but I'm serious right here!"_

_Erza was the first one to recover from the almost devastating shock._

"_Mhmm. Sure, we can tell you, but may I ask first why do you ask this question, and why do you look like you're searching for someone?"_

"_It's nothing. And I heard this word from Mirajane, she said something that sounded like 'oh how much I wish she could be his girlfriend, they look so perfect with each other!'"_

_Gray nodded. "Typical of Mira, since she loves to play matchmaker."_

"_So, anyways, tell me what a girlfriend is!"_

_Erza bowed down her head as if thinking. Gray on the other hand explained it to him. "You see, a girlfriend is a girl you like, or even love."_

"_But I like Mira, and Erza, and Lisanna, and all the other girls in our guild!"_

"_No, that's not just it," Erza said, "Do you even know what the meaning of liking someone is, or maybe loving someone?"_

_Natsu stared at her, clueless about what she just said. Gray face slapped himself. _How stupid can this guy be?

_Erza sighed and shook her head, she gave him a pitying look, and Natsu just stared at her, waiting for an answer._

"_It's quite hard to explain this… umm… I'm sure you know how to love a family member, right?"_

_Natsu nodded. "Like how I love Igneel."_

"_How about friends?"_

_Natsu nodded again. "That's to everyone in this guild."_

"_But how about loving someone you like?"_

_Natsu shot her a puzzled look._

"_You feel that your heart beats faster than normal when around that special someone and that you want to make that person happy all the time, and your stomach does somersaults every time she smiles at you?"_

"_I-I guess so…" Natsu muttered._

"_But when you love her, you feel that you would give up everything you had just to save her or make her happy, and something's telling you that you want to be forever with her. You feel differently towards her compared to other people like friends, and that you want to make her a part of your own family. In short, you want to make her yours and yours forever."_

_Natsu bowed down his head as if thinking of something. He quietly thanked Erza for explaining everything to him. They both stared at his back as he slowly walked to bar and asked Mira for a drink. It looks like he understood her explanation and that he's thinking it over. _No way, Natsu? Thinking? Impossible!_ These words were written in their minds._

"_Wow, you explained it really well, like a real pro. Might I just ask how did you get this kind of experience?" Gray nudged her by the elbow and the Titania blushed the same shade as her hair._

"_Shut up."_

_*_END OF FLASHBACK*

Right now, he wanted to concentrate on Lucy's scent and try to ease his nervousness, but her scent was mixed together by Alex', and it just made everything much worse. _Just when I decided to confess to her…_ Natsu clenched his teeth.

Gray and Erza, being the ones sitting in front of them, saw the corner of Natsu's eye twitch in annoyance, and they smirked.

"Oh, by the way, where did you put the symbol?" Lucy suddenly asked Alex.

"Symbol?"

"Yeah, the Fairy Tail symbol."

Alex took off the glove on his right hand and showed them the back of his hand. The Fairy Tail sign was stamped in blue ink on his hand.

"Hey, the same spot as mine!"

Alex nodded. "You don't seem to hate me that much anymore."

"As long as you're not annoying and can increase the pay of the missions." Lucy shrugged, and one of Natsu's veins popped out on his forehead, the same time with another twitch of his eye.

It looks like he still has another obstacle to get rid of before he can truly get what he wants.

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><p>So? What do you think?<p>

I know, this Alex sounds a bit like Mystogan/Jerard, with the tattoo under his eye and all, but trust me, he never came into my mind when I created Alex, and I just noticed it after I finished the chapter, so please don't think that I copied Mystogan/Jerard's style.

Oh, and a small question, how did I come up with Alex's birthday? The first one who answers it correctly will get...cookies! Lol, and a special mention on the next chapter :)


	3. Chapter 2 I'm a What?

Here you go! I'm back with a new chapter!

Originally, I was planning on posting this chapter between March 11 and March 24, who knew that I'd finish it this early?

I sacrificed countless nights just to produce this, lol jk, that's exaggerating, but anyway, the point is that I finally finished a chapter, right?

I'll be focusing on the other story for now, but once I finish the chapter, I'll continue this story.

By the way, for the people who guessed on the b-day of Alex:

**ashley-myth: Lol, yeah, one of the reasons. Since you got at least half correct, here's half a cookie! :D**

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><p>Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say, so nevermind :|<p>

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><p>Chapter 2 I'm a Goddess<p>

Lucy stared at the request board of the guild, looking if there are any quests easy enough for her to do alone. Erza was out on another S-class mission and Gray and Natsu were too busy fighting each other to bother, plus, Natsu has been acting a bit strange recently. If he wasn't fighting with Gray, you'd find him at the bar staring out in space and sighing frequently. Though it seemed like Mirajane knows why he's acting strange, she wouldn't say a word about it to her. "Best if you find it out yourself" was what she said to Lucy, and that made her more frustrated than anything.

And right now, she's bored again. The first few days Alex came, it was pretty fun, but after those few days, it went back to normal, unless you count Alex's frequent harassing.

"God, he is worse than Loki." Lucy muttered under her breath.

"Who? And who's Loki?" A voice startled her. She quickly turned around to see Alex standing right behind her, almost leaning on her.

"Oh, it's just you. You scared me." Lucy gave out a sigh of relief as she tried to calm her speeding heartbeat.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you or anything." Alex smiled apologetically. "By the way, found this on the board a while ago and thought that you might be interested." He gave Lucy a piece of paper.

Lucy reached out and got it from his hands. It was a request paper. The client would want them to catch a bunch of thieves who stole his precious artwork and he wants them back, but other than that and the reward, nothing else was written.

"The client wants to meet us first before we set off and catch the thieves, he'll be explaining more of it at another town, where he currently lives." Alex explained as he saw Lucy's confused expression.

"I see… but one million jewels just for a piece of stolen artwork? Isn't that a bit too exaggerating? And if he lives in another town, surely they also have guild like ours? Why bother coming all the way from, where was it, Voltar? To our guild here in Magnolia? And that's a five hour train ride."

Alex shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not so sure either. So, what do you say? Do you wanna do it?"

"Are you kidding me?" Lucy gave him back the paper. "Who would want to miss an easy one million? But, just the two of us?" Lucy pointed a finger at her and then one at Alex.

"Yeah, the client only wishes two people."

"But, I better ask Erza…and I'm pretty sure Natsu won't allow it…" To tell the truth, Natsu has never allowed Lucy to take missions with someone else, it always has to be the four of them with Happy, or only her and Natsu, no one else.

Erza, who just came back from her S-class mission a second ago, asked Gray what was happening and both of them overheard their conversation. Natsu, on the other hand, also heard them and was about to charge towards Alex but Erza quickly stopped him with a blow to the head.

Alex and Lucy didn't see anything, but they heard Natsu's muffled "oomph" as his head hit the table.

"What just happened?" Lucy pointed at Natsu. He isn't the type to sleep in the guild during the day, except when he's really tired, and Lucy knows that perfectly well.

"Oh, it's nothing. And, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but it's alright if only the two of you go, don't worry about us. Look, Natsu's already sleeping, and it's impossible he didn't hear what you said with his dragon ears, so it must be okay with him, too." Erza sat beside Natsu and patted his back while trying her best to put on an innocent smile.

Lucy isn't stupid, everyone knows that, and she stared at Erza suspiciously, but she didn't utter any complaints. _I'll just ask her myself when I get back_. She said in her head.

"Alright, then. I'll go home and prepare. Why don't we meet at the train station at seven?" She turned towards Alex and asked him.

"Fine with me." Alex smiled and watched as she walked out of the guild back to her apartment. After she disappeared from his sight, he turned to Gray and Erza, who were standing right behind him.

"So, we just want you to know that I and Gray here don't entirely trust you." Erza said to Alex. She motioned for him to sit down and Alex quietly obeyed, not surprised. He knew that Erza would someday figure it out, and it wouldn't be long before Gray knew it, too.

"What exactly is your goal?" Gray asked. The two of them sat down in front of Alex right after he sat down.

"Yes, apart from that, I also want to know your relationship with master."

Alex sighed. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"I already did, but he won't tell me."

"Fine, let's just say that we're distant relatives."

"What about the first question?"

This time, Alex hesitated before he relied. "That I cannot tell you. Perhaps someday, but definitely not now. And I want you to know that I did join the guild because of Lucy, well, one the reasons anyway."

Erza eyed him suspiciously, and shook her head. "Fine, I'll let you go this time, but warn you that I'm not satisfied with your answer. Let's go, Gray."

The two of them left the table, leaving Alex, who seemed to be contemplating on something.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

The next morning, Lucy stood beside a clock post in the train station while impatiently looking at the time. It's already 7:15 and Alex is nowhere to be seen.

_Strange, this is the first time he's this late. Did something happen to him?_ Lucy thought. Her luggage was beside her and she leaned on the post. Surely, someone with the looks of Alex is not hard to spot. But after looking around for another ten minutes, she gave up. _Maybe he got sick, or something urgent came up…_

As she thought so, he eyes kept on wandering to the growing crowd near the entrance. She had observed it quietly for a while now, and she noticed that all the people in the crowd were women.

_What's the commotion over there? Is there some handsome looking guy? Maybe I'll go and take a peek, since Alex is still not here. Besides, it won't hurt to look at hot guys once in a while, right?_

Lucy approached the crowd and tried to squeeze herself through the crazy women. After she got to the front, she was shocked to see Alex standing in the middle in casual attire. She had expected him to where the clothes he was wearing yesterday, which covered every inch of his body.

"A-Alex?" Lucy blurted out.

Alex heard her voice and looked at her direction. When he saw her, he gave out a huge sigh of relief and pulled her towards him, and then he hugged her tightly in his arms, Lucy squashed by his sudden bear hug.

"Wha-?"

"I thought you would never come." He whispered intimately in her ear. His face was so close that Lucy could feel his hot breath on her ear and neck, and the sensation sent shivers down her spine.

The girls around gasped when they saw him pull her to a hug, most of them walked away in disappointment when they saw them hugging, but some girls stayed and glared daggers at Lucy, but Alex glared at them, and they, too, walked away.

After the girls were gone, she pushed him away from her with a blush visible on her face. "What'd you do that for?"

"Sorry, I had to do it or else they won't let go of me." Alex smiled apologetically at her.

"Then why didn't you wear your usual attire where you could cover you entire body?"

"Well, it seemed extra hot today, and I don't want to get a heat stroke."

After he replied, they heard the whistle of the train.

"Oh no, I don't have my ticket yet." Lucy was about to pull her luggage and run to the ticket counter, but was stopped by Alex.

"I already have your ticket, bought it before those girls blocked my way. Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go." He took out two tickets and pulled Lucy to the train.

"Thanks a lot! How much does it cost?" Lucy asked as they boarded the train and was finding an empty compartment.

"Not much, why?" Somehow Alex knew where this conversation is going.

"Well, I thought that I would pay you back for the ticket, you bought it for me after all."

"Don't worry about that, I did let you wait for twenty five minutes."

"But it's not your fault."

"Right." Alex rolled his eyes. "Being handsome nowadays is a crime, you know?"

"Pfft, you're so full of yourself."

"But it's the truth, and I only speak the truth. Here, I found an empty one." He opened the door to the compartment and let Lucy in first, and then he put their luggage on the shelf on top of the seats. "Lucky we found one, it's pretty hard to book a ticket going to Voltar these days, much more finding an empty compartment."

"Why? Voltar doesn't sound so popular to me."

"Not to you, but to mountain hikers, it pretty much is. Mt. Fenac is the third tallest mountain in Fiore, and it's located north of Voltar, so later when we get down, you'll see a lot of tourists and mountain hikers all wishing to climb it."

"You seem to know the place very well."

"Been there a few times before, though all of them are business trips, but it wouldn't hurt to research on the place, right?"

"True." Lucy nodded, and soon, the train started to move.

After they passed the city, they watched as farms and orchards passed by, and animals grazing the pastures, with a few farmers and shepards here and there. A few minutes after, they heard a weird growling noise.

"What was that?"

"I think it's my stomach, I haven't breakfast yet." Lucy smiled, embarrassed. "I'm going to get some food, you want some?"

"Bottled water will do, thank you."

"Okay." And then Lucy went out.

After her footsteps disappeared, he snapped his fingers and purple smoke appeared in front of him. After a few moments, an image started to appear and a young girl could be seen.

She looked about the age of Wendy, a petite, small girl with black hair cut into a neat bob, and her skin looked as white as winter snow, but her amethyst eyes showed the exact opposite of a young girl and her face expressed nothing but coldness.

"So, how did it go?" She said, her voice high, but it expressed nothing.

"I haven't done it yet…" Alex said sheepishly.

"What?" For the first time, her eyes showed some anger, but it quickly disappeared. "Then when do you plan to?"

"I…I don't want to startle her or anything. Are you sure that I really should say it?"

"What do you think? Listen; trust me when I say that this is the only way to save her."

"I do trust you, but, I don't want to break the news to her straightforwardly, who know how she'll react?"

"I thought you were childhood friends? You ought to know her better than anyone."

"It's true, but she has changed so much since we last met, and I don't think she's the Lucy I know anymore. There's someone out there who knows her better than me right now."

"Is that jealousy I hear? Well, whatever. All you need to do is let her know of her own fate, this way it'll be much easier, unless, of course, you have a better way in doing this, then be my guest."

"No…"

"Then hurry up! Time is running out, don't you see? Damn it, I need to go back right now, just tell her the truth already." And with that, she disappeared.

"Hey, wait, Lydia!" Alex called out, but her image was long gone. "Damn it!"

"Alex? What happened?" The door was pushed open and Lucy came in with a paper bag full of food. "Thought I heard you curse about something."

"It's nothing. By the way, isn't that a bit too much?" He pointed at the food Lucy brought.

"Oh, this includes our lunch and some snacks. Here's your water." Lucy smiled and handed him his bottled water. "By the way, didn't know what you wanted for lunch so I bought you a sandwich instead."

"You didn't have to do that." He took the water.

"Heh, consider it a thank you gift for the ticket." She opened her salad and started to eat. Alex just stared at her and chuckled.

"Huh? What?" Lucy looked up from her food.

"You have something beside your mouth." He pointed and wiped it off with a paper napkin. Lucy blushed slightly.

"T-thank you…"

She received another chuckle from Alex.

"What now?" She frowned.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that you look cute when you blush."

This time Lucy couldn't say anything in return and just went back to eating her salad, with her original blush darkening to a brighter scarlet.

Alex smirked and looked out the window, appreciating the scenery.

After a few hours of sitting in the train, they finally arrived to their destination, town Voltar.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

"Wow, there's a lot of people here." Once they walked out of the station, Lucy was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd outside.

Alex took Lucy's hand and pulled her towards him. "Follow me and don't get lost."

Lucy looked at his hand that was holding hers and blushed a bit, but she didn't feel any electricity or anything like that, compared to the first time Natsu did.

Well, actually, it was the second time. The first was when they were escaping the guards in Hargeon after he defeated the fake salamander and the time when Natsu introduced her to Fairy Tail. The second time was when they were caved in during a mission.

She remembered it very well. That mission required them to fight a monster living in the mountains, and after they did, a landslide occurred. They ducked in a cave, but the entrance was quickly sealed off by dirt and mud. Unfortunately, they were depleted of magic. Fortunately, Happy asked for help in the nearby village, but they said it could take a day to successfully save them. So they were stuck in the cave for a day. When night time came, the temperature dropped to a freezing level, and Lucy was shivering from the cold. Natsu noticed it and inched closer to Lucy, hoping his unusually high body heat would make her feel better. It did. But she was afraid, and when she was starting to break down, she felt his hand on top of hers. A pang of electricity quickly shot through her hand, arm, brain, and eventually her entire body. She looked at Natsu and saw him staring straight in front.

'Don't worry, we'll get out of here soon enough.'

And with those words, her fear went away and she fell asleep. The next morning she was awakened by some sort of scratching and digging noise, and a few moments later they were saved by the villagers.

_Wait, why am I thinking about these things?_ Lucy frowned. It's not like she's cheating on him, they were never together to begin with!

Alex was walking in front of her, so he can't see Lucy's expression.

They walked passed the busy market place and managed to hold on to there luggage. Now they were walking on a small dirt path somewhere just outside of town.

"I don't understand. Why don't we just ride a carriage or something?" Lucy asked.

"Well, some people here tend to raise the price since there are a lot of tourists, and we don't want to spend hundreds of jewels to go to a place just outside of town, right? Besides, getting some fresh air and exercise is always good for the body." Alex said, his hand still holding Lucy's.

Not that she feels uncomfortable with it, but since there aren't many people, well, nobody at all, he could let go now, right? From what she remembered, their relationship level isn't high enough for them to be holding hands for this long. But his warm and big hand seemed to trigger something behind her head, like a memory. The first day she saw Alex, which was when he first joined Fairy Tail, she knew him from somewhere, and now, his hand felt so familiar.

"Hey, Alex…" She wanted to ask him if they have met sometime in the past, but before she could say anything else, Alex immediately let go of her hand.

"We're here! Finally!" Alex exclaimed.

In front of them was a black metal gate that stood taller than any other gates Lucy has seen before, and through the metal bars she could see a garden blooming with different kinds of flowers. Alex pushed a button on the telecom on the wall beside them, and after he identified themselves as members of Fairy Tail, the gate opened automatically, inviting them inside.

Now that they're inside the gate, Lucy could see the garden better. The garden was beautiful and looked like it has taken extra caring. Various butterflies and countless bees were surrounding almost every flower and they could see a pure white manor standing a few hundred meters from where they were.

"Wow, big place." Alex whistled.

"Yeah." Lucy replied. _Though not as big as mine._ She sheepishly added in her head and she knows that Alex knew that, too.

"C'mon, don't want to be late now, do we?" He smiled at her and walked ahead, Lucy following close behind.

Right before Alex could push the door bell, the door opened and an old man wearing a tuxedo greeted them.

"Welcome. Our master has been waiting for the two of you. Please follow me."

The butler startled Lucy, but he looked like a good enough man. They followed him inside and stared in awe at the numerous art pieces displayed in the corridor. There were oil paintings hanged on both sides, some of which Lucy has seen in books before, and on the end tables and display cases were other jewelry and ancient looking antiques.

"Are these all…real?"

"Of course, our master despises the fake ones and never buys them."

"Isn't that…oh gods, a painting by the famous Garret Stone?" Lucy pointed at a particular painting on the wall.

"I see that Ms. Heartphilia here has some knowledge about art." The butler raised an eyebrow. "Yes, it is. Our master acquired that through an auction years before."

"And what about those jewelry?"

"Ah, one our master's most prized possessions. The jewels that were once worn by the former queen of Fiore."

"What? How come you guys have it?" Lucy exclaimed. "Surely, the royal family is the one who's supposed to have ownership over it, right?"

"Don't worry. I assure you that our master got it through legal means."

Lucy gazed suspiciously at the butler, but was pulled aside by Alex.

"Don't worry. What he's saying is perfectly true. In fact, I was there when it happened."

"Huh? So are you friends with this guy we're meeting?"

"Uh, no. Let's just say that we're well acquainted."

"Now, if you please, can we proceed to the master's office? He doesn't like waiting for too long." The butler said and continued to guide them through the manor. After passing through the lobby and the sitting room, they stood in front of the office. The butler knocked softly on the mahogany door.

"Master? The people you were waiting for are here."

"Send them in." A raspy voice came from inside.

"Yes, sir. I'll just go to the kitchen to prepare some tea." And after that, he opened the door to let them in and closed it behind them.

As they stood there, Lucy observed the room. It was big for an office, but I guess you could say it was fine considering the amount of shelves in it. In the middle of the room was a large wooden desk which looked like it was also made of mahogany, and the back of the chair was facing them.

"Excuse me. Mr. Dupont?" Alex cleared his throat and called out.

"I've been expecting the two of you." Mr. Dupont said, still not moving. "Now, I suppose we get down to business, shall we? Ah, my apologies; please, sit down." An arm moved and two chairs immediately appeared in front of them.

The two of them sat down.

"There, I thought you'd want to have some rest first since you walked here."

"How'd you know we walked?"

"Well, I'm also a fellow mage, and I just love crystal gazing." His finger pointed to a crystal ball standing on one of the shelves. "Now, before we get to the mission, I'm sure you have many questions to ask me."

"Yes," Alex said, "somehow you're voice sounds very familiar. Mind telling me if we have met in the past?"

"I thought you knew him." Lucy asked.

"Well, yeah, I've met him before, but he didn't utter a word, and I don't know how he looked like. He was wearing a mask."

Mr. Dupont chuckled as he listened.

"Yes, Alex, we have met before. In fact, I was quite close with your family."

"What? Don't tell me…you're…?"

"Finally remembered?" The chair turned towards them to show an old man wearing a formal suit. "My original name was John Vincent Fray. After your sister died I changed my last name." His almost balding hair and wrinkles made him look like a harmless old man who couldn't even lift a sword; but there's something else. His whole being was emitting a strong authoritative aura that almost seemed to crush Lucy, and when she met his eyes, it was like staring at the most terrifying predator that could pounce on you anytime.

"You guys…know each other?"

"He is, _was_, my brother-in-law." Alex said through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"Finally! You remember!"

"How could I forget someone who killed my own sister?"

Lucy stared in shock and Mr. Dupont just sighed.

"Alex, how many times do I have to tell you that it wasn't me? I loved you're sister more than anything and anyone in the world."

"Well, she would still be alive right now if you didn't let her leave you're house alone! You know how many enemies you'd have in a positions like yours and yet you still let her go out all by herself!" Alex was near shouting now and Lucy couldn't do anything but try her best to calm him down.

"And that is why I decided to disappear. If I didn't care for her, do you think I'd still be alone? I'd probably marry another woman!" Mr. Dupont replied calmly. "Look, I'm not here to fight, and I'm sure you, too. Why don't we put aside past grudges for now and focus on the mission I ask of you to do?"

"I'm not doing it." Alex said bluntly.

"I knew you'd say that. But please, consider this me begging you. I really need you to help me track down the bandits and take back what they stole from me. It's very important."

Alex looked at Mr. Dupont and saw that he's just an old man who wants has treasure back. They did decide to go here after all. What's the point in coming here and not accepting the request?

"Fine." Alex sighed. "But I don't want to see you're face again after we take care of those bandits and get the reward."

"You have my word." Mr. Dupont sighed. "You can go out now. My butler, Jonathan, will give you the details. Please, I'm very tired."

The two of them went out of the office and was surprised to see Jonathan waiting for them outside.

"Tea is ready. Please follow me again to the dining area."

As they sat down at the table, Jonathan sighed. "Please, don't be angry with master. It's true that he has been mourning for Mistress Alexandra ever since that terrible accident and blaming himself for all those years. Could you believe that he's only forty years old?"

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked as she sipped her tea. That guy looked like he could pass for her great-grandfather already.

"I'm afraid so." Jonathan smiled bitterly. He eyed Alex, who doesn't have any expression on his face. "Our master didn't know that Mr. Alex was in Fairy Tail. Our master was on a business trip when they were raided by bandits. Thankfully most of the valuables were protected, but they managed to snatch a hair pin. Our master treasured it more than anything in the world…"

Suddenly, Alex stood up and walked towards the entrance.

Lucy saw this and ran after him after hurriedly finishing her hot tea, scalding her tongue at the same time.

"I'm sorry, but we'll be back with the hair pin, I promise!" she shouted at Jonathan, who still sat at the table, surprised by Alex's action.

"What is wrong with you?" Lucy caught up with Alex and asked him. He was walking in a very fast pace across the garden to the gate. "You could've waited until he finished telling us about the mission."

"No need to. All we need to know is what we're searching for."

"But we still don't know anything about the bandits…"

"Oh, I know them. When we were in that old man's office, I saw a file. It must've been the business papers he got after the business trip, and on it wrote a certain company from another town not far from here. There is only one way to reach the town, and that is to pass through a mountainous range. The only bandits residing there call themselves the 'Mountain Falcon'."

"Wha…you're so observant. And how do you know that much?"

"I read the newspaper a lot, and some books, too." Alex replied. "They appear on the news a lot of times. They seem to be the target of the Fiore Central Police Force, too."

"I see…but why did you suddenly decide to help him? I thought you hated him."

Alex didn't reply, so Lucy didn't push him, but after a while he said, "It doesn't seem right. He looked so helpless, and I've seen countless helpless faces in my life, but his was the saddest expression. I don't know if he's faking it or not, but I'd rather be a good person than bad, don't you agree? Besides, my sister wouldn't want that, right? But I was honest when I said that I didn't want to see his face again." Sadness filled his eyes despite the smile on his mouth when he talked about his sister, but it quickly turned to a frown.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Frown. It's a waste for a face as handsome as yours. And, you'll grow wrinkles."

Alex looked at Lucy and then laughed.

"There, you look much better when you laugh." Lucy smiled at him, and her smile made his chest feel tight and heavy.

"C'mon, we've got a thief to catch."

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

Meanwhile, at the guild, Natsu was furious when he woke up. Everyone who approached him could feel the intense heat he was giving off. Erza was the only one who could approach him. Other things around him like the metal tankard started to melt, and the wooden chair he was sitting on and the table in front of him appeared black as charcoal.

"Natsu, you better stop, or else you'll burn the whole guild down." Erza said calmly, seemingly unaffected by the heat.

Natsu didn't reply, and the heat increased. Erza sighed and motioned Gray to do something before the guild burns down while she'll try to calm him down. Gray then instructed some of his guild mates to help and they all scurried off, afraid of the heat, especially Gray.

"Natsu, I know you're mad at me for letting Lucy go with Alex, and it is reasonable, but sometimes you just can't stay with her all the time. You know why I let her go with him? Because I'm planning something."

Natsu raised an eyebrow at her, the heat around him cooling a bit.

"I don't trust Alex." Erza admitted to Natsu. Natsu glared at her, as if saying 'then why did you let her go with that son of a bitch?', and the message was well received. "But I do trust him that he won't harm Lucy. For now. He seems suspicious, as you have noticed since the first day he came here, and I know he's hiding something. I want to wait until he reveals it to us, but for that to happen, I need Lucy to be with him."

"What does that mean?" Natsu asked. That was the first thing he has uttered since he woke up from Erza's attack a few hours ago and the heat has definitely reduced, though still unbearable.

"I need Lucy to cloud his mind, that way, he'll be making a mistake much sooner and his true face will be revealed to us sooner than expected. "You and I obviously know that he's crazy for Lucy, which is true, so if he stays around Lucy, he'll mind will always wander towards her instead of his original goal. Get it?"

Natsu hesitated. "Kind of…but…"

"This is also for the safety of Lucy." Erza added and Natsu shut his mouth tight. If it was for Lucy, he'd do anything, including lending her to any other guy, maybe.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

"Well, that was faster than I had expected." Lucy breathed out heavily. In front of her lay the exhausted and defeated Mountain Falcon.

"They're too weak." Alex added. He tied everyone up to immobilize them he made sure there are no means of escape. "We'll call the police once we get back to town. Now, where is that hair pin?"

"I think I found it." Said Lucy, who searching on the table. A golden hair pin was resting on top of the piled jewelry and its end was adored by sapphires.

"Let me see."

"Well, I think it is the one we're finding, since it's the only hair pin here."

Alex stood behind Lucy and looked over her shoulder, and then he froze. Lucy noticed it and turned to look at him. On his face was nothing but pure shock, and then it was covered in grief.

"W-what's wrong." Lucy panicked. He looked like he was about to cry.

Alex walked passed her and cautiously picked the hair pin up like it was the most delicate porcelain in the world.

"This…is my sister's favorite hair pin. I remember her wearing it on every grand occasion, and on her wedding…the old man still has it…?"

Lucy watched as sadness loomed over both of them. She knew very well how it was like to lose someone very dear to you, and yet she couldn't mutter a word of comfort to him.

After what seemed like a century, Alex composed himself and turned to Lucy. "Let's go back. Wouldn't want him waiting for us, now do we?"

During their trip back to the manor, no one said a single word. Lucy was contemplating on how painful it was when she knew her mother died. Alex on the other hand was thinking if this was a good time to break the horrible news to her.

"Lucy…"

"Hmm?" She lifted her head as her train of though was disrupted. "What's wrong?"

"There's something I need to tell you right now."

"What is it?" She tilted her head to the right. It's one of her habits. The look on Alex's face was disturbing, as if he was about to tell her something devastating.

"Listen, what I'm about to tell you might come as a great shock, so I want you to listen to me, and then hear me explain, alright?"

"What are you talking about? Did something bad happen? Bad enough for you to look this disturbed?"

Alex pressed his lips together. "Well, nothing really happened, but the thing I'm going to say _is_ quite disturbing…"

"Ok." Lucy inhaled deeply. "I'm ready. Spit it out."

"You're a goddess." Alex blurted out. It took all of his strength just to say it, and he waited for Lucy's response.

For a while, she just looked frozen, her eyes staring at him, and then she said, "Huh?"

"Look, I can explain…"

"You know, a lot of men have said that to me before, so it's not that surprising…"

"No, you need to listen." Alex said impatiently. He never expected for Lucy to be this calm. "It's true, you're a goddess."

"Oh, cut the crap. Are you joking with me? Is it April Fools today? Cuz if so, I will not believe a word you're gonna say in the next few minutes." Lucy pointed a finger at him.

"I said, listen." Alex ignored her annoyed stare. "Your mother, Mrs. Layla Heartphilia, is the goddess of the stellar spirits. She died years ago, right? So her role as a goddess was passed down to you, even though you're just half a goddess."

Lucy just stared at him, not uttering a word.

"It's a bit hard to digest, I know, but that was the shortest and briefest way I could explain it to you." Alex shrugged. "Or you're just staring at me because you do not believe a word that I had just said."

"A little bit of both. You're story sounds so fantasy like, how could I believe it?"

"Well, you believe in stellar spirits, why not believe in a stellar goddess who controls and governs the stellar realm?"

"But stellar spirits do exist, you have seen them, I have seen them, but a stellar goddess? That's kinda ridiculous."

"Will you just think about it for a moment? You're mother Layla died on the year 777, July 7, am I correct? Also the same year and date when the dragons around the world mysteriously disappeared without a trace, not even leaving a note to their own kids. Is that a coincidence? Why don't you ask the stellar king when did the former stellar goddess disappeared? Oh, and you also saw the stellar king, who usually doesn't show himself to anyone except his fellow stellar spirits, how is that possible? You also have gathered many gold keys, which I recall was scattered all over the world and was very hard to obtain, but you got more than half in your key chain right now. Would you call that luck? To me luck doesn't treat people that generously."

For once Lucy was speechless by Alex's words. True, she found the death of her mother and disappearance of the dragons mysterious, and she was also curious of why the stellar king decided to show himself over a small thing and the keys she has right now…

"Now do you get it?" Alex sighed.

"I need proof."

"What?"

Lucy pointed her finger at him again. "I said I want proof. Fine if you call me the stellar goddess, but I need proof before I fully accept that."

"Heh, if it's proof you want, then it's proof you get. Let's go return this to that old man first." Alex smiled confidently.

"What do we do after that?"

"We go to your old house."

"Why?" Lucy frowned. She never liked going back there again. Though she loves the servant there, but there's a man who she hates the most.

"We're gonna go and dig up a grave."

* * *

><p>Hope you find this chapter entertaining :))<p>

Another question!

**Who's grave are they gonna dig up?**

Lol, this is kinda obvious, so the real question!

**Is the girl Alex called out one of the good guys or the bad guys?**

This also serves as a litter spoiler on the future chapters, good luck guessing!

The first three will get...cookies still. Ain't that exciting? :D And a special mention on the next chapter!

See ya guys soon!


	4. Chapter 3 Grave Digging

Here comes the 3rd chapter! Finally! It has been sitting in my USB for a while now and I just decided to write a chapter.

As for the answer to the last question, yes, they will be digging Layla's grave, and Lydia will be on the good guy's side. For now. (Evil laugh).

**So yay cookies for rourie and Shining Stellar!** (Give's out virtual cookies.)

* * *

><p>Chapter 3 Grave Digging<p>

"By grave, you don't mean my mother's grave, do you?" Lucy asked. Alex was walking in front of her and they were on their way back to the mansion of his brother-in-law to complete the mission and give the hairpin back.

"Are there any other graves in your father's estate?"

"No, but I still gotta make sure that you're not kidding. You _do_ know that what we're going to do is insane and illegal at the same time?"

"As long as I have your permission, it won't be illegal, since you technically still own the land." Alex said back. "And I know, it _is _insane, but what other option have I got?"

"You've got no choice but to show me my mother's remains?"

Alex sighed. "I know you're recoiling at the mere idea of it, but trust me, it has everything I need to prove to you that what I said a while ago is all true."

"We'll see about that." Lucy said, not convinced. Despite how much she hated the idea of seeing her mother's dead body, Alex didn't look like he's going to give up on that thought. "We're here."

The mansion was just up ahead and they could see its roof from the tall trees. Lucy was starting to feel excited. An easy one million and she didn't even need to use all of her strength for the fight.

Alex pressed the button on the intercom. "Hello? This is Alex and Lucy; we've brought back the hairpin."

No answer. Alex frowned and pressed the button again. They could hear the buzzing sound but no one was answering, not even a maid or guard. "Strange…"

"Alex, look, the lock looks broken." Lucy pointed at the barely open gate. Alex bent down to examine the lock.

"Looks like it was forced open by magic. Dammit!" Alex cursed as he ran inside, followed by Lucy.

They searched everywhere inside the huge house but found no one, and a lot of rooms were trashed, like there was a break-in, but looking closely, all of the valuables were still there.

"Who would break in a mansion and trash the place," Lucy asked as she opened a closet, hoping to find someone in there. "But not take anything?"

"I have no idea…"Alex sighed as he moved the turned over sofa and sat on it. "We haven't been gone for an hour yet and this…not only can't we have our reward, but we'll probably be suspected by the police with the disappearance of Mr. Dupont…"

"Is it that bad? But I'm not saying that we leave like this and not try to find them, of course."

"Is it that bad?" Alex repeated. "Mr. Dupont is one of the richest tycoons in Fiore and the police will be itching to blame someone, anyone, for his disappearance, not to mention that we're the first ones to be at the crime scene, it's like putting a huge arrow on top of our heads saying 'Here we are! We did it!' and stuff like that."

Lucy sat beside him. "Ugh, then what do we do now?"

"Easy, we'll have to search for anyone who has remained."

"But we already searched the whole place! Don't tell me we're going to do it again."

"Nope, there's still one place we haven't searched."

"And where's that?"

Alex stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. It was the only thing in the study room that wasn't toppled over. "Of all the things in this room, this is the only thing that remained untouched."

Slowly, he slid his hand over the books and stopped at one. It looked different from the rest of the books and Alex pushed it inside. They heard a click and the bookshelf began to move side wards revealing a hidden tunnel.

"Dupont you sneaky son-of-a-bitch." Alex grinned as he stepped inside. "C'mon, this will probably close after a few seconds."

Lucy jumped up and ran inside as the bookshelf almost closed on her. She tripped on a protruding stone on the ground and she almost kissed the floor if it weren't for Alex. He reached out and effortlessly caught her in one arm. "That was close."

Lucy quickly pushed him away in embarrassment and he just chuckled as he led the way. The tunnel was dark and humid and full of cobwebs, something Lucy particularly disliked since it always tends to stick on her hair. Who knows, there might even be a spider on it.

"Man, this is one long tunnel." Alex said as he brushed some cobwebs aside. "Wonder what's on the other side."

They walked for a few more minutes before finally reaching the end. The exit was securely locked and was reinforced with strong magic, but it was no match against Alex's. He placed a palm on the lock and the barrier was immediately dispersed. He then snapped his fingers and blue flames melted the iron locks on the door.

"Did you just…nullify the magic barrier?" Lucy asked in astonishment. This is the first time she's seen Nullification Magic.

"Yeah." Alex said as he opened the door. "But I don't plan on telling the others yet, so can you keep it a secret?"

"Sure, but…why? I mean, nullifying magic is an awesome skill, why hide it?"

"Let's just say I prefer to lay low." After he said that, he motioned for Lucy to be quiet as they entered the room. They heard absolutely nothing but silence, but Alex can feel multiple presences in the room. He told Lucy to stay where she is as he went to investigate.

The room was actually quite spacious and it was well furnished, complete with a kitchen area, a table, and some sofas. The lighting was good and the air wasn't as humid as he expected, though the long red curtain in the corner of the room reeked of suspicion. He quietly walked towards it and stood for a few seconds before pushing it aside. As the curtains were moved, a hidden crossbow shot out an arrow from a hidden compartment on the other side of the room and Alex barely dodged it, his sleeve torn and a scratch formed on his right arm.

Lucy covered her mouth in surprise and did her best not to utter a word while Alex released the curtain and took a look around the room. If they weren't hiding behind the curtain, where were they? Now that they both know that the room is filled with traps, they had to act more cautious than ever.

Alex started to walk around the room, though as quiet as he could while trying not to trigger another trap. He searched everywhere, under the sofas, behind the kitchen counters; he even searched the walls, perhaps for a button that would reveal another hidden room. Now, a hidden room in a hidden room, Alex was starting to get annoyed at Mr. Dupont for creating such secrets in his own home when he noticed something. The colors of the walls were different. Even though you wouldn't see it at first glance, when you look closely, they were of different shades, and Alex quickly assumed that the part of the wall with the lighter shade was actually a secret door. Now all he had to do is to find a way to open it.

After a few moments of searching, he found a button so flat that you would never notice it unless you touch the wall. Alex immediately pushed the button, and that part of the wall moved upward, revealing a room bigger than the one they're in. Inside were two people, Mr. Dupont and Jonathan, both sitting on the sofas beside each other and drinking tea, briefly acknowledged the presence of the two mages, and went back to their chatting, which irritated Alex.

"Hey, can't you at least explain what happened? We search all over the mansion worrying that you guys are gone and this is what we get?" Alex yelled at them.

"Well, it isn't surprising that the two of you have found us, as expected from Fairy Tail Mages." Mr. Dupont said as he sipped from his tea cup. "And I assume that you have the hairpin?"

"Yes; here you go." Lucy handed the hairpin to Jonathan, who pushed another seemingly invisible button on the wall which revealed a hidden compartment, and carefully put the hairpin inside. "Gosh, you sure like to have hidden rooms and compartments."

"People have secrets." Mr. Dupont shrugged. "I believe you want an explanation?"

"Hell yeah we do. Start from all the mess we saw in the mansion." Alex said as he sat on the long sofa facing Mr. Dupont and Lucy sat beside him, also wanting to hear an explanation.

Mr. Dupont sighed. "Right after you left, there was a group of people, five in total, who demanded you and Ms. Heartphilia's whereabouts. We didn't say anything, of course, and Jonathan had them distracted for me to hide here and he managed to sneak here while they were…'preoccupied' with something else."

Alex looked disturbed. "Did they say why they were looking for us? How did they look like?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer both of your questions. When we tried to ask them their reason, they didn't reply, and they were all wearing black robes that covered even their faces, however, Jonathan here did say that he saw one of them wearing a strange pendant of some sort."

"How did it look like?" Alex faced Jonathan, who was already holding a piece of paper and a pencil, ready to draw it out. One just has to wonder whether ha can read minds or not.

They waited for a few seconds as he drew the pendant from memory and handed it to Alex. Alex snatched from him and looked at the drawing. It was oblong in shape and there seems to be a large gem on it.

"The gemstone is green in color, in case you're wondering, and it didn't look like any known gemstones." Jonathan said as he shaded the gem on the paper.

"Cant you describe it?"

"It had this faint glow and looked very much like a green moonstone, but the glowing was…otherworldly."

"Anything else?"

"There's nothing else to say about it…ah, the material surrounding the gem wasn't ordinary metal, that's for sure. It was as black as ebony but I couldn't recognize what type of metal it was."

Alex stared hard at the paper. His stare was so intense that Lucy thought it might bore a hole on the paper, luckily it didn't. "There aren't enough clues…anything else? Like, maybe describe how they acted or anything out of the ordinary?"

"Give him a rest, Alex, he's old enough to be your grandfather." Mr. Dupont raised his hand.

"It's alright, sir." Jonathan nodded at Mr. Dupont. "In fact, I finally remembered that they were all deathly pale and they all rushed in after I opened the door for them, like they were afraid of the sun. All of them wore an accessory of some sort, with the same material as the pendant; some wore it as earrings some rings while the rest bracelets, only one wore it as a pendant and he seemed to be the leader of the group."

"That's still not enough information, but thank you." Alex thanked Jonathan, which he returned with a curt nod.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Alex? As you have seen outside, they weren't exactly 'friendly'." Mr. Dupont sighed.

"I swear I haven't done anything wrong, but since I now know that both of us are wanted by an unknown group of people, we should be more cautious. Anyway, our questions are now answered and we completed the mission, don't you think it's time you give us our reward? We still have to go somewhere."

Mr. Dupont acted as if he finally remembered something and snapped his fingers. Jonathan immediately appeared with a silver tray on his hands, on top of the tray was a stuffed envelope. He took it from the silver plate and gave it to them, which Lucy accepted gratefully.

"You did a good job on finding the hairpin. I am grateful." Mr. Dupont nodded at Alex and Lucy as they stood up.

"Hey, old man, what do you plan to do afterward? The mansion is pretty much trashed..."

"We'll find a way. The group of people probably scared the maids away, so I'll have to find new people willing to work for me, though that wouldn't be too hard, and I could always go to an inn in the town to rest."

"An inn? That doesn't sound like you at all." Alex frowned.

"People change." Mr. Dupont sighed. "The same goes for me. I thought you were in a hurry to go somewhere?"

"Ah, right! Let's go, Lucy!" Alex pulled Lucy up and towards the tunnel where they from. After they were outside the mansion and on the way back to the train station, Lucy couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hey, Alex, I have to ask you something. I've been wanting to ask you hours ago but..."

"Hmm? Sure." Alex, who was walking in front of Lucy, said, not turning around.

"Have we met before?"

Alex was surprised by Lucy's question and stopped abruptly, making Lucy bump into his back.

"Ow! You didn't have to stop so suddenly!" Lucy said as she rubbed her nose.

"You honestly don't remember anything about me at all?"

"What're you talking about...?" Lucy stared at him, clueless.

Alex sighed as he saw Lucy's expression. "I'll explain it to you once we get to your estate."

Somehow Lucy felt bad, but she really can't remember. She'd have to wait for the explanation then. After a few minutes they were on the train again, this time, they're heading to Lucy's old home, where her mother's grave is, but it was still a good few hours ride away.

They spent the ride basked in an awkward silence, Alex staring at the view outside, not looking like he wants to talk at all, so Lucy let her thoughts wander instead. She thought about how the guild was doing right now. Cana was probably drinking right now, it would be weird if she didn't; Mirajane would be serving drinks and food to everyone; Gray and Natsu would be fighting, as always, and Erza would beat them up, then Happy would treat Natsu's wounds. She sighed as she thought about Natsu. _I wish Natsu was here instead of Alex...wait a sec, if he was here, then we wouldn't be able to complete the job since he'd probably burn the bandits together with everything in the cave...but still..._

She doesn't know the reason for the sudden longing of her companion, nor the reason why she wished it was him instead of Alex that accompanied her in this mission. She just assumed that maybe because it has been a while since they did a mission together with Happy, so she decided that when all of this over, they'd do a mission, just the three of them, or if possible, just her and Natsu. Lucy didn't realize the heat that slowly crept up her face as she watched outside the window, nor Alex's eyes that seemed to be transfixed on her.

After a few hours, they have arrived at Lucy's hometown at dusk, and Alex said that they would have to wait until dark before they can creep into the estate and dig up the grave. Lucy agreed with his plan, despite how much she hates it. She didn't want to walk up to the servants there and tell them she'll be digging her mother's grave. She didn't want her father to know that she's been there either. So they checked in an inn first and decided to have some rest before they begin.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

"From what I can see on your face, you've told her, haven't you?" Lydia said from the purple smoke Alex made.

Alex nodded with a grim expression. "She didn't take it that well, and she wants evidence, though I suppose it was to be expected."

"Of course, and I assume you will go to Layla-sama's grave?"

"Yes. We will rest here in this inn for a couple of hours and go to the estate after dark."

"You did well, and I commend you for that." For the first time, Lydia gave a small smile, but it only lasted for a second. "I know it was hard to break the news to her."

"Yeah...who knows how she see's me right now..." Alex mumbled, but Lydia heard it.

"Why does it matter so much to you? What matters right now is that everything else will be much easier, and you will be able to save her. In the end, when she finds out about everything, she'll be grateful and will forget about your past mistakes. This will be a small sacrifice compared what will be loss if you didn't tell her, and I'm sure you know it very well." Lydia pointed out.

Alex nodded again, but still a bit sullen.

Lydia sighed. "Anyway, if she's still skeptical after you have shown her what's inside the grave, you know what to do to make her believe. Once she finally believes that she really 'is' a goddess, contact me."

"Got it." Alex said and the smoke dispersed with a snap of Lydia's fingers.

Alex lied down on the bed, his hands under his head as he stared at the ceiling, contemplating on something.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

The knocking on her door woke Lucy up from her nap and she opened it to find that it was already late in the evening.

"Sorry, I over slept. Guess those bandits tired me out a bit."

"It's alright. We have all night."

They told the inn keeper that they'll just take a small evening walk and will be back soon. Though he was suspicious, the inn keeper shrugged it off and sighed, mumbling to himself something about "kids" and "youth" and the like.

The walk to the estate was pretty long, so Alex suggested they use levitation. Alex snapped his finger and a strong gust of wind surrounded them. Good thing Lucy was wearing a pair of shorts instead of her usual mini skirt. They floated upward and Alex snapped his finger again. They were immediately pushed forward by the wind and they arrived in front of the grave in a matter of minutes.

"I admit, this is pretty convenient, but I would be more grateful if it didn't mess up my hair." Lucy said as she brushed her hair with her fingers.

"This is just a small sacrifice." Alex repeated the words Lydia had said to him. "Anyway, why don't we get started?"

"Sure, but...where are the shovels? Don't tell me we're going to dig the soil using our hands."

Alex chuckled quietly. "Of course not. Leave it to me."

He raised his arms forward, palms facing the ground, and he mumbled a short incantation in a language Lucy didn't recognize. After he finished the spell, light surround a rectangular area of the ground and a huge chunk of soil was lifted. In the hole was a white coffin with the golden words "Layla Heartphilia". Alex then snapped his fingers and used the wind to bring the coffin up.

"And when you said we're gonna dig up a grave I really thought we were going to dig up a grave." Lucy muttered.

"But don't you think this is easier? Anyway, I'm going to open the coffin now." Alex said as he placed the chunk of soil aside.

Lucy closed her eyes as Alex pushed open the lid of the coffin and held her breath in nervousness. _I swear, if Alex is lying and I see a skeleton in there I'll..._

"Here ya go, no corpse or skeleton."

Lucy slowly opened her eyes into small slits, and when there really wasn't a skeleton to be found, her eyes widened in surprise.

"How can this be? I was sure they put my mother in the coffin...this is..."

Inside the coffin was nothing but a small envelope with the words "to Lucy" written in beautiful handwriting with purple ink on it. This was her mother's handwriting.

"Here." Alex picked up the envelope and gave it to Lucy's trembling hands. "You can read it back at the inn, we need to go now."

Alex put the coffin back in the hole and put the soil back. It looked like this piece of land has never been touched.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

"_To my dearest Lucy,_

_If you are reading this letter, then that means I am no longer here in this world. I know this line has been overused many times before in novels and movies, and I truly wish that I am just joking with you. I hope you understand that I have never wished to part with you, especially this early, but even if you don't, please know that I have left this world for many reasons, all of them important and if I have stayed here, it would endanger the whole universe._

_The next part will sound almost like fantasy, but it is very important and concerns not only you but your loved ones, too, so I need you to read this letter until the very end before you make a decision to whether believe me or not._

_I'm sure that there's a person who has guided you, or else you wouldn't be able to find this, and I'm also sure that that person has told you about the whole "goddess" thing. I am a goddess. Please don't regard this statement as random. It is true. I will leave the other explanations to that person, since it is easier to understand when explained face to face. Back to the topic at hand. I am a goddess, and with a human man, your father, I have conceived you. That makes you a half-deity, or demigod as some people call it. But bearing that title will also be a burden to you. A burden I have taken myself in the past. The universe right now is currently in chaos, it has yet to reach your world, so it may not seem so to you, but it will be evident in the near future. I have sacrificed my powers in hopes of destroying this chaos and restore peace to the entire universe, but not only did it suck out all of my energy, my efforts only slowed it down._

_This is also why I have grown so weak in the past few months and eventually my life ended. I used the last moments of my life to compose letters to every one I love, and I lost my last few sparks of magic left inside of me to create a barrier to protect this world until it was time for you to take my place._

_Though you are only a demigod, and your current powers are still weak compared to this chaos, it is possible for you to train and get stronger in terms of physical, mental, and magical abilities, the three important strengths needed to fight against the dark power that desires to devour the entire universe and plunge the world in chaos and despair. Don't worry, there is this special organization that knows of my existence and identity, and they also know about the Void, a temporary name to the unknown power. They will be the ones who will train you and prepare you for the fight. If everything succeeds, the Void will be forever destroyed, returning peace to the universe, and everyone will live, including you. However, if it fails, well, let's assume the worst: the universe will be destroyed, despair and hatred will run wild, everyone will die._

_Don't fear and believe in yourself. Believe in your keys and the spirits that reside in them. Believe in your friends. Putting absolute faith in them and yourself will be one of your greatest strengths. Remember this, do not ever, ever, think that you are weaker than others. It is true that you were born a princess and you were very much protected, which means you have less experience than others, but that alone doesn't define you or your strength. You may not be able to defeat a monster with a mere sword or conjure enormous amounts of magic, but with proper training and enough time, you will be able to do so. And besides, who says strength has to be defined by how many monsters you have killed in your life or how great your magic power is?_

_But then again, you also have a choice. Being a demigod, you don't have to burden yourself. It's not your fault you were born this way, why do you have to carry what I have carried? Don't worry, even if you choose not to, there are other solutions to the problem. So what's your choice? You have to know, though, that once you pick one, you cannot change it. It is a decision with a lifetime effect, and you cannot back away at the last second. You don't have to choose to fight just because you are my child. I want you to live a normal life, too. But whatever your choice is, you will still be Lucy Heartphilia and nothing can change that._

_I wish I can say more about the things to come, how you can face the problem at hand, but my time is limited and I can only say this much. Time to say goodbye, Lucy, but don't feel sad. We will definitely meet again, just not in this world. I love you._

_P.S. To be sure that you can trust the person who brought you to this letter, you can check their left arm for a tattoo like seal. It looks like a star with the sun and moon on each side. And, just in case, tell them this: the stars will rise. The response should be: and may we rise with them._

_Love,_

_Layla Heartphilia_

_7/7/X777_

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

Lucy stared at the letter, tears flowing down her cheeks. This was written by her mother all right, she knows it. She folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. Alex was sitting on a chair in front of her, waiting for a response. They were back in the inn and both of them are in Lucy's room right now.

Lucy inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. She was thinking about what her mother had said in the letter. If all of it was true, then she had to choose. To follow her mother's footsteps and risk her life, or forget about everything and live a normal life without any worries.

Alex was watching her every move, waiting patiently, but at the same time anxious. There would be three possible outcomes now: one, she'll accept it, two, she'll choose not to do it and would want to go back to her normal life, and three, demand more evidence. He wished she would pick the first one.

"The stars will rise..." Lucy mumbled quietly under her breath, but it was loud enough for Alex to hear.

"And may we rise with them." He sighed. "Let me guess, Layla-sama told you about that."

"Yeah, to make sure that I can trust you." Lucy said. "And that if you really are to be trusted, you'd have a tattoo on your left arm."

"For your information, I do have it." Alex raised the left sleeve of his shirt and showed Lucy the tattoo. "Are you happy now? Why are you asking me these anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious enough?" Lucy looked up at him, a small smile visible on her face. "I'm joining this so called organization of yours."

* * *

><p>So, I finally managed to squeeze this much out of my brain. Oh how much I hate the junior year of highschool.<p>

I hate to cut it here, but I promise to give more explanations about the "organization" Alex is in and about Layla being a goddess and the rest of the questions you might have after reading this chapter in the next one, so please patiently wait for the next chapter.

Since I'm done with this one, I'll probably start with either "Back to the Nightmare" or "Book of the Fallen", though I'm still stuck at the latter one, so "Back to the Nightmare" it is! Unless I have a sudden inspiration to start BotF again.

Anyway, please leave a review!


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